Buying a house : Tips / Advice?

[Trevloc]

Just as the title states, I am looking for tips and advice on buying a house. I am only 21, so this is obviously my first house. I do currently live in AZ but i plan to buy a house in NV (Henderson) here soon. I would travel up there, about a 6hr drive to view it. My lease on my apartment is up in June so I am going to move back into my parents house for a few months to save up a down payment ($5,000?). Should I find a Realtor in NV to start looking for houses now? Or wait until I have a definite down payment? I also plan on going to the bank and getting a preapproval here soon, so I know what my limit is. I would like my payments to be low, obviously, so I don't think I plan to buy over $100,000. I have already started looking and there are quite a few 3bd 2 ba for around 80k and so forth. So its doable! Any Comments are welcome! Thanks. :bravo:

 

[jwyshrek]

Just three things...

Inspection, inspection and inspection...know what you are paying for...

 

[JohnsD90]

If your at all handy i will say to buy a house that needs updating or if your brave a fixer upper. It will help you get a house cheaper, or getting a bigger house than your range implies. It's not extremely hard to redo rooms, i have been doing many projects on my parents house on my own and working with my dad. As previously stated get it inspected, you do not want to buy a house that has a nice big mystery that has a cheap patch over it. I don't know much about loans and stuff as that is not my forte, but good luck dude, and good idea to get off the lease.

 

[durrell]

I bought my first house when I was 20. It was a 60 year old house that had been completely remodeled.

I haven't had any trouble at all. Just don't buy more house than you need and as others have said make sure that a.) you get it inspected and b.) have everything fixed that they find in the inspection. Unless of course you do buy a fixer upper. I wouldn't necessarily recommend a fixer upper as your first house, though, especially at your age.

The pre-approval is a great idea. We did the same thing and it helped a lot. We were able to make an offer and know everything was all set beforehand. Also, make sure you get a fixed-rate mortgage. That seems like common sense, but I know some fall prey to those adjustable rate mortgages with low rates in the beginning. You picked a good time to buy, as interest rates are at an all time low, so good luck!

 

[ndcent]

I also bought my first house when I was 21.

Sadly I didn't make any profit on it when I sold it, but that's bc some of my equity paid for a new truck and a criminal defense attorney over the course of my owning it, lol.

Advice:

1. Definitely hook up with a Realtor who you can have as your "buyer agent", super helpful to have someone on your side vs. calling random listing agents.

2. Definitely become pre-approved. And have in mind what you're willing to spend. What you're pre-approved for and what is realistic are VERY different numbers.

3. Mold freaks people out, I think it's a bunch of BS.

4. Work with a lender who really knows their ****, there are tons of programs that offer down payment assistance and all other perks and goodies you can get.

5. Have fun!

ETA: Realtor.com is your best most updated website for home searching (here in Ohio at least.)

Realtors hate zillow and trulia, etc.

 

[Thai]

If a house is already completed/lived in, then i am not sure that an inspector will do a lot of good. I know of people who ignored mold and water damage (from hurricanes) and just put up nice dry wall to cover it...and use the insurance money on private stuff. Not sure how an inspector is supposed to find that out.

A home requires maintenance...some requires a lot, others less...but they all require maintenance. There are all sorts of taxes that you have to pay depending on where you live (including home owner's association fees). Yes, you do get a break on your IRS tax return. And this last part is what i kept on hearing as a major advantage to buying a house. After living in a new-at-the-time house after 5 years, i don't know if it saves me anymore money than if i had lived in a reasonably-priced apartment. So, unless you're going to get married or have little children running around AND have a financially stable job, i am not sure if buying a house is a wise thing to do. In addition, with the housing market the way it is now, if you decide to unload the house in the next 5 years, you will hurt...badly.

Good luck with house hunting.

 

[Uneek]

To get a decent interest rate, you want to have a down payment of at least 20%. 25-30% will get you the best rate. I'm not sure if there are still lenders doing 10%, if there are, there will be a premium (higher rate) for those loans.

I second the inspection opinion. At the very minimum, I would opt for a pest (termite) inspection. Typical inspections are pest and property. There are a lot of other inspections you can order depending on property.

IMO, if you buy a house that's structurally sound (property and pest inspections), everything else can be fixed with work depending on your comfort level. I would go with something that has a floorplan that you like and a good neighborhood (location, location, location). Biggest ROI are updating the kitchen and bath.

Good luck. I would take a look around to see the days on market, selling price, etc. If you have a realtor, ask them for comparisons on what's sold in that neighborhood, set a criteria and have them send you new listings that pop up. From there determine what it is worth TO YOU. At the end of the day after you buy it, it's just on paper what it's worth and won't matter until you sell. The market can go in any direction.

 

[durrell]

In my case, the mortgage company required a full inspection. That may be because I went through the USDA with a Rural Development Loan (regular home loan, but you have to buy a rural home and they waive down payment ). I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a house without an inspection, personally. My inspection found electrical issues, etc. and I was able to get them fixed by the PO before closing.

Also, on the subject of tax breaks, when you're young (especially unmarried), the tax breaks are a bit better because the mortgage interest write-off requires you to itemize. Since the standard deduction for a single person is only like 6k, you should be able to itemize enough deductions to make it work in your favor. I was (and am currently) unable to, because my standard deduction helps me more than itemizing. I assume that will change when I have children. Not that any of that matters, but just an FYI.